Ranking the Top 10 South Americans to Play for Chelsea

Of all the clubs in the Premier League, Chelsea have long embraced the use of overseas players to their benefit.

The list of big names to have joined the Blues and made a considerable impact is as hefty as it is impressive, with players from across Europe joining the club's ranks.

It may have taken them a while longer, but in recent years Chelsea's cosmopolitan nature has gradually had a more South American feel to it. Indeed, the Blues' current first-team squad features four Brazilians, not to mention a host of others out on loan.

But who is the man to have made the biggest impact, the one South American player whose legacy far outstrips any other at Stamford Bridge?

9. Willian

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He hasn't yet been at Chelsea for a season, but the signs suggest Willian will be more than a pawn in Chelsea supporters' games of one-upmanship over Tottenham Hotspur, whom they poached the Brazilian from last summer when he seemed set to join the North London club.

Willian seems to be adjusting well to English football and has gradually become a key member of Jose Mourinho's squad.

Should that continue, we're certain his ranking in future lists will only improve, although we've got to say, the song Blues fans sing in his honor is beginning to wear a little thin.

7. Hernan Crespo

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Had it not been for his personal problems away from the field, who knows how many goals Hernan Crespo would have scored for Chelsea?

As it is, he finished his Blues career with 25 goals in 73 games—a respectable record—with some exquisite finishes among them. One need only recall the opening day of the 2005-06 season and Crespo's dramatic last-minute wonder strike against Wigan Athletic to see what he was capable of.

There were highs and lows, although things never quite worked out the way he and the club had hoped.

Having signed from Inter Milan in 2003, he departed on a free transfer back to the Italians in 2008 after loan spells with them and city rivals AC Milan.

3. David Luiz

If we were ranking Chelsea's South American players on character alone, David Luiz would push our No.1 selection very close. For now, though, he has to settle for third place.

Signed on the same deadline day that Chelsea splashed £50 million on Fernando Torres in January 2011 , his arrival was somewhat low key. Then came his swashbuckling performances in defence and suddenly a star was born.

He is a hero to Blues fans and while his mischief away from the pitch is a big reason for that, so too is his approach to the game and his ability with a football.

David Luiz doesn't just score goals, they have to be wonder goals and he has bailed his team-mates out on more than one occasion, too.

Pundits will say what they will about his tendency to appear aloof at times, yet he remains an excellent player.

2. Ramires

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They call him the Brazilian Kenyan for a reason. In fact, the Brazilian Forrest Gump may be more apt as Ramires just keeps on running and running and running...

There's more to his game than an unrivaled work rate and stamina, however. Just ask Barcelona after his expertly taken goal in the 2012 Champions League semifinal put Chelsea back in control of the second leg at the Nou Camp, eventually drawing the game 2-2 as they reached the final.

The Brazilian was signed for £20 million from Benfica in 2010 and given the service he has provided since, it's a fee that seems a bargain.

He may not have the trickery of his compatriots, but Ramires' contribution in midfield has been considerable in his four seasons in West London.